It was stupid. He knew that. He'd hung out with Cas at bars or restaurants loads of times, and what, they'd been dating for months and even sorta had a baby and a teenager together. Which was still weird, but whatever. It worked.

A date, though? This was new territory. Hell, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd been on a real date. Or what a real date was.

The other thing was, in the chaos of their lives--between the hunting and taking care of a baby and the big fucking city that had fallen on the Hub--they hadn't...done much. Some kissing and groping here and there, which was... nice. Obviously. But here was date night and that MEANT some shit and the fact that Dean had porked just about every waitress on I-80 wasn't making him any less jittery about tonight. It wasn't just sex. It was sex with a dude, and with Cas specifically. Maybe. Or maybe that wasn't what date night was about. Who knew how angels did it. Dean took a moment to reflect that maybe this was what Sam meant when he said Dean had communication issues.

Whatever. He checked over his reflection in the chrome of the Impala's bumper, gave his shirt a sniff (motor oil, mostly) then went and headed up the stairs to meet Cas. They were going out to dinner.

If Dean thought he was the only one experiencing a significant upwards tick of norepinephrine and adrenaline as the time of their excursion neared, he would be truly mistaken. Castiel had changed his suit thirteen times. He wasn't sure what to wear on this 'date.' Would Dean find it strange if Cas worse his trench coat? Would it be more strange for Dean if he didn't? Was a suit even appropriate dress? Or was he supposed to wear something more casual?

It took him an entire twenty four hours to make a decision. A decision that consisted of- A tie was too formal and jeans would suffice for pants. A regular button up and blazer would be fine. And that his trench coat was acceptable to be worn while going in transit but he should take it off once they were seated.

Once that decision was out of the way, Cas was left with the quiet hell which was not knowing what to do with himself. He was clean and showered and his clothes were freshly laundered. He had invested in some relatively pleasant scented cologne- and had gotten help from someone who actually appreciated such types of scent so he knew it couldn't be absolutely terrible. He had a babysitter ready and bottles of formula mixed, just needing to be heated, and he had had resupplied all diapers and wipes so there would be no shortage. He had sat down and rocked his baby girl to sleep with a promise that he wouldn't be back too late.

Following all of that, Cas had defaulted to what he had done many times. Sat and watched the clock, waiting for the time he had been told by Dean Winchester. Perhaps the worst part was that he didn't fully understand why he was so nerve wracked. It was Dean. They had had countless meals together. Plenty of them since they had become a couple even- it was just that they had a third wheel for those. A third wheel that could be counted twice. If the baby Serafina didn't need anything than Cas had to make sure that the young adult Sera didn't need or want anything. He didn't want his daughter to feel forgotten. In favour of his daughter.

And human literature did very little to illuminate the subject. Between all of the countless stories Cas had been told by Metatron, any number of the ones regarding adult first dates ended with... 'coffee.' Cas didn't know if that was what Dean was expecting or hoping for, and certainly Cas was interested. In a way that he still had no good explanation for. Save for the fact that it was Dean, and Cas was in love with him.

Having time to kill waiting may have been a bad idea. He should have... practiced with his weapons. Or something. As it was Cas was now watching the seconds tick by and waiting at the top of the stairs for Dean.

Cas looked...nice. Real nice, actually, in jeans that hugged his ass and a crisp button down and a jacket. Blazer. Thing. Dean licked his lips, then looked down at homeless, feeling suddenly underprepared. He was wearing the same flannel he'd put on this morning to do some research into a possible haunting then work on the car. It was clean...ish... but it wasn't like he was gonna run away now and change. Whatever. Clothes were clothes.

"You look, uh, nice," Dean said profoundly. Then, still feeling about as sure of himself as a middle schooler about to have his first grope under the slide at the playground, he leaned in to kiss Cas on the lips.

That was pretty nice too.

"Sera go down easy?' he asked when he pulled away. Cas was up here and not still trying to coax her to sleep, so that was something, but you never knew. Then he gestured vaguely at the door. "And, uh, ready to go?"

Dean shouldn't have worried about his clothes- Castiel had spent so much time focused on it for lack of something more productive to do with his time. As well, Cas was inclined to believe that Dean was attractive at all times, not just when he was dressed particularly nicely. Which likely stemmed from the fact that as an angel, he was used to seeing bodies as dressing for souls.

Despite all of that, Cas couldn't help a small twinge of desire at the way Dean was looking at him. It was beyond unfair that the hunter could just lick his lips and Cas was captivated. He blushed lightly at the kiss before stealing a second one quickly. It was something that he didn't think he would ever get used to- being able to kiss Dean. Clearing his throat slightly, Cas gave a small smile as he replied. "Thank you. As do you."

Though he was proud of his ability to form words despite his nerves, Castiel was still frighteningly aware of Dean's presence. The minute the questions left Dean's mouth, the angel found himself replying. "No. I cheated." He blurted without thought before coughing to again clear his throat. "She reached the point of overtired where she wouldn't sleep, so I used my grace to put her to sleep. And yes. I am ready to go." Cas elaborated, carefully reaching out and taking Dean's hand in his before opening the door.

Dean felt his face make a funny expression as Cas kissed him and said he looked nice. The kiss was awesome. Duh. But he wasn't used to anyone complementing him like that, at least outside of demons calling him pretty boy or some shit, and he hadn't quite figured out how to react.

He smiled, though, at Cas's confession. "Hey, man, whatever works. Hell, if I could do the magic sleep thing, I'd use it all the time."

Then Cas's hand was in his, and Dean couldn't help the lock of excitement in his gut because, shit, he still couldn't believe this was happening at all. Man
Sam was gonna have a fucking cow.

"I'll drive," Dean said with a smirk, squeezing Cas's fingers lightly. "What do you think, that burger joint at the edge of town? Or, shit, no, something nicer? Or not. Uh. Help me out here?"

Cas was frightfully aware of the way Dean's facial muscles twitched. He seemed... disconcerted? By Cas's compliment? Had Cas misread the situation, was he not allowed to say that? They were... boyfriends. Media suggested that it was an appropriate thing for a boyfriend to say, but was that exclusive of boyfriends who had girlfriends instead of boyfriends? The complexity of human relationships was astounding to the angel, even though he was now in one himself.

He bit his lip for a moment before 'going for broke' as his friends might say, leaning forward, pressing another kiss to Dean's lips and smiling. "What I mean to say- is that you look incredible, as you always do. It's still unbelievable to me that you are attracted to me as well." Cas offered quietly.

His smile strengthened at Dean's reply. "I try not to, but sometimes when she gets so tired she starts to manipulate reality, there's only so much you can do." Cas offered in his attempt at humour. He imagined a lot was lost with tone.

Cas didn't know what else Dean was thinking as he linked their hands, but he likely would have agreed. Enough people had referred to Cas as 'Dean's' that he was certain any number of them would feel immensely vindicated to discover they were right. Cas still had a hard time believe Dean was his- but Cas had been Dean's almost from the get go. He had met Dean's eyes, and long long before he had any idea what it meant, Cas had been head over heels for Dean.

Cas chuckled. "Yes I imagined you would. Even with my wings restored, the idea of going somewhere without you driving is strange to me." He offered lightly. Though he had not spent too much time with the Winchesters with his ruined wings- it had been enough. It was comforting. Riding beside Dean. Listening to music with him- that meant more since he had received the tape from him.

"Burgers sound great." He offered simply, comfortable that it would be enough to reassure the incredible man holding his hand.